Fax to email

[Metspitzer]

That would be a handy feature

 

[Seth]

That would be a handy feature

That's how most E-Fax services work. When a fax is sent to your number you
receive it as an emailed attachment.

 

[James Silverton]

That's how most E-Fax services work. When a fax is sent to your number
you receive it as an emailed attachment.

In my previous machine, using Windows XP, I had a Fax Modem, which was
occasionally useful. Do such things work under Windows 7? I have to
admit that I have not needed to send or receive a fax in the past 8
months but I still have the old machine and I suppose I could remember
how to fax.

--


James Silverton, Potomac

I'm *not* (e-mail address removed)

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

In my previous machine, using Windows XP, I had a Fax Modem, which
was occasionally useful. Do such things work under Windows 7? I have
to admit that I have not needed to send or receive a fax in the past
8 months but I still have the old machine and I suppose I could
remember how to fax.

Fax is doable in Win7, although I've never done it. Open "Help and
Support" enter "fax" in the search box.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

In my previous machine, using Windows XP, I had a Fax Modem, which was
occasionally useful. Do such things work under Windows 7? I have to
admit that I have not needed to send or receive a fax in the past 8
months but I still have the old machine and I suppose I could remember
how to fax.

Sure, why not? Fax modems as devices are still supported in Win7, all
you would need is a fax software to encode and decode them.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Ed Cryer]

Sure, why not? Fax modems as devices are still supported in Win7, all
you would need is a fax software to encode and decode them.

Yousuf Khan

Wouldn't you need a dial-up modem, though? A broadband one won't do.

Ed

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Ed.

My new HP OfficeJet Pro 8500A all-in-one printer has the fax - including the
modem - built into it...somewhere. All I know is that the phone cord from
the wall jack plugs into the back of the printer. A second jack alongside
the first takes the phone cable from the printer to the phone on my desk. I
haven't had a dial-up modem since I got Internet cable over 5 years ago and
my computer has no way (except through this printer) to connect to a phone
line.

In my whole life I've sent/received no more than a dozen or so faxes. But a
relative needed one soon after I got this printer in January. In a few
minutes, we received a faxed form from a business in Nevada, signed it, and
faxed it back.

I'm not sure how it worked, but it worked. Once. And I'm sure it will work
again if I need it.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010)
Windows Live Mail 2011 (Build 15.4.3538.0513) in Win7 Ultimate x64 SP1


"Ed Cryer" wrote in message

Sure, why not? Fax modems as devices are still supported in Win7, all
you would need is a fax software to encode and decode them.

Yousuf Khan

Wouldn't you need a dial-up modem, though? A broadband one won't do.

Ed

 

[Metspitzer]

That would be a handy feature

What I really meant to say is that instead of entering a fax number
you should be able to enter an email address.

 

[Ken Blake]

Sure, why not? Fax modems as devices are still supported in Win7, all
you would need is a fax software to encode and decode them.

I guess I'm in the minority, but it boggles my mind why these days
there are still fax machines, fax modems, fax software, etc. Doesn't
almost everyone have e-mail and a scanner?

 

[Ken Blake]

Wouldn't you need a dial-up modem, though? A broadband one won't do.

Yes, but note the following two points:

1. He said fax modem. A fax modem is *always* a dial-up modem. There
is no other kind.

2. There's really no such thing as a broadband modem. The term "modem"
is short for "modulator-demodulator." Technically, it's a device that
converts the analog signal on the telephone line to the digital signal
needed by a computer, and vice-versa. Technically, any device that
doesn't do that analog to digital conversion is not a modem (but see
below).

A device that connects to a high-speed internet connection is properly
called a "gateway," not a modem, because that high-speed internet
connection is digital to begin with. So there's no analog to digital
conversion, no modulating or demodulating is required, and the term
"modem" is technically inappropriate.

However, the difference between a modem and a gateway is not widely
known, and the term "modem" is widely used for both types of devices.
Some people strenuously object to this usage, because it's not
technically correct. My personal feeling is that, leaving aside the
analog to digital conversion issue, both devices do essentially the
same thing--they connect a computer (or network) to the internet.
Since there is no term that is really correct for any device that
connects a computer to the internet, and since the term "modem" is so
widely used for this, I think insisting that a gateway not be called a
modem is just rigid and inflexible. Despite the original meaning of
the term, for all practical purposes, calling that DSL or cable device
on your desk a "modem" is far and away the best thing to do. Like so
many English words, the word "modem" has changed its meaning over
time.

 

[Ed Cryer]

Hi, Ed.

My new HP OfficeJet Pro 8500A all-in-one printer has the fax - including
the modem - built into it...somewhere. All I know is that the phone cord
from the wall jack plugs into the back of the printer. A second jack
alongside the first takes the phone cable from the printer to the phone
on my desk. I haven't had a dial-up modem since I got Internet cable
over 5 years ago and my computer has no way (except through this
printer) to connect to a phone line.

In my whole life I've sent/received no more than a dozen or so faxes.
But a relative needed one soon after I got this printer in January. In a
few minutes, we received a faxed form from a business in Nevada, signed
it, and faxed it back.

I'm not sure how it worked, but it worked. Once. And I'm sure it will
work again if I need it.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010)
Windows Live Mail 2011 (Build 15.4.3538.0513) in Win7 Ultimate x64 SP1

I can't figure out the purpose of the cable from machine to phone. The
rest is very orthodox fax stuff, and yes, it will have a dial-up modem
since it has to send digital signals down an analogue network and
convert analogue to digital on input.
Modem (modulator-demodulator).

How much for the whole box of tricks? I've been considering an
all-in-one printer-scanner-copier. They're so cheap these days. If I
could get one with a fax-usable modem in it as well, then all the better.

Ed

 

[VanguardLH]

That would be a handy feature

So just what are you asking for? That Windows 7, a workstation OS,
become a server in providing a fax-to-email gateway? You didn't pay for
a server-grade version of Windows.

There are already lots of fax-to-email gateways available for sending
and for receiving. If you want some suggestions on those then ask about
them.

 

[Charles Tomaras]

I guess I'm in the minority, but it boggles my mind why these days
there are still fax machines, fax modems, fax software, etc. Doesn't
almost everyone have e-mail and a scanner?

Medical world, financial world, real estate world all still use faxes.
No...I'd say most households don't have stand alone scanners. So that just
leaves households with multi-function printers and I'm still betting it's a
percentage down in the teens.

Office establishments that offer fax service are doing far more business
with faxes than they used to as far fewer people own fax machines these
days. Yes, faxes are dying but it's a slow slow death.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Ed.

I can't figure out the purpose of the cable from machine to phone.

So I can talk to people. ;^} The twin phone jacks on the printer are
input/output. I unplugged my phone from the wall and plugged it into
output, then added a phone cord from the wall to input.

This 8500A has been on-sale at Office Depot (and other places) since I got
this in January. The price dropped from $300 to $200, plus I got a $50
trade-in for my 10-year-old OfficeJet G55 - which had just developed a
problem, so it was an easy decision. I think the 8500A - and several
similar models - are still on sale just about everywhere. Total cost of
upgrade: $150 plus sales tax.

I keep thinking I made a smart decision. ;<)

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010)
Windows Live Mail 2011 (Build 15.4.3538.0513) in Win7 Ultimate x64 SP1


"Ed Cryer" wrote in message

Hi, Ed.

My new HP OfficeJet Pro 8500A all-in-one printer has the fax - including
the modem - built into it...somewhere. All I know is that the phone cord
from the wall jack plugs into the back of the printer. A second jack
alongside the first takes the phone cable from the printer to the phone
on my desk. I haven't had a dial-up modem since I got Internet cable
over 5 years ago and my computer has no way (except through this
printer) to connect to a phone line.

In my whole life I've sent/received no more than a dozen or so faxes.
But a relative needed one soon after I got this printer in January. In a
few minutes, we received a faxed form from a business in Nevada, signed
it, and faxed it back.

I'm not sure how it worked, but it worked. Once. And I'm sure it will
work again if I need it.

RC

I can't figure out the purpose of the cable from machine to phone. The
rest is very orthodox fax stuff, and yes, it will have a dial-up modem
since it has to send digital signals down an analogue network and
convert analogue to digital on input.
Modem (modulator-demodulator).

How much for the whole box of tricks? I've been considering an
all-in-one printer-scanner-copier. They're so cheap these days. If I
could get one with a fax-usable modem in it as well, then all the better.

Ed

 

[VanguardLH]

I guess I'm in the minority, but it boggles my mind why these days
there are still fax machines, fax modems, fax software, etc. Doesn't
almost everyone have e-mail and a scanner?

You'd be surprised how many companies and division of the gov't demand
you send them a fax copy of a document. There are legal problems in
proving who sent an e-mail but a fax copy is a legal document to produce
in court for evidence - despite there is no more evidence in the
electronic transmission via fax than for e-mail (but the courts are very
slow to update their understanding of technology). I've had contractors
who want me to send them a fax for a copy of my driver's license because
a scanned photo of it attached to an e-mail won't meet their legal
requirements for proof of identity.

I don't bother with an analog data/fax modem anymore. I think there is
still one inside my desktop but I don't use it. It's been a few years
since I had the old POTS telephone service over which the analog modem
would work (to send the handshaking and data tones for faxing) and my
VOIP line won't let me do analog faxing. So, if the fax doesn't contain
sensitive info (credit card numbers, bank account numbers, etc) then I
use one of the online fax services to give them my doc and have them fax
it to the recipient that demands a fax transmission. If the fax would
contain sensitive info, I simply refuse to send them a fax by telling
them I don't have fax capabilities and nothing close to me has fax
sending services (whether there are or aren't) and force them to accept
e-mails.

While I use online fax sending services (e.g., FaxZero, GotFreeFax), I
still have an old eFax receive-only (free) account. It does mean I have
to install their software to decipher their proprietary TIFF file format
but this gives me a receive fax number to give to others. They send a
fax, I get an e-mail, and use eFax Messenger to read the attached fax.
So the free online services do me just fine. The only exception is when
sending a fax with sensitive info that I won't divulge to the online fax
sending services, so then I play fax-impotent (can't fax, no one around
to do the faxing for me) and force use of e-mail. In those cases where
the recipient will accept an e-mail but cannot use it as a legal doc,
they just tell me to postal mail them a hardcopy. The e-mail takes care
of the current needs with the hardcopy providing them their required
hardcopy to file away.

I most cases but not all, I can get someone demanding a fax to accept
e-mail.

 

[VanguardLH]

What I really meant to say is that instead of entering a fax number
you should be able to enter an email address.

Enter an e-mail address where? You can always put a note in your
outbound fax telling the recipient not to send you a fax but always to
reply back to you via e-mail. Of course, since it's legally required, I
believe, that you include your fax number in your transmission, they
can still try sending you a fax despite you don't have your end
configured to answer fax calls.

Why are you sending someone a fax if you want them to respond via
e-mail?

 

[Seth]

What I really meant to say is that instead of entering a fax number
you should be able to enter an email address.

Yeah, we have that too. It's called email.

Or if you are talking about from hard copy directly to email, many
all-in-one printers are capable of that as well.

Did you spend any time researching this?

 

[Char Jackson]

What I really meant to say is that instead of entering a fax number
you should be able to enter an email address.

What Seth said still applies: "That's how most E-Fax services work."

To send a fax:
Create a new email. The body of the email can be your cover page.
Attach the document to be faxed to your email. Send it to the
recipient by appending his phone number to your efax provider's
domain, for example, "(e-mail address removed)"

To receive a fax:
Give the sender your account info, which will be in the form of a
phone number. They send the fax to that number and you receive it as
an email.

 

[Monty]

I guess I'm in the minority, but it boggles my mind why these days
there are still fax machines, fax modems, fax software, etc.

Didn't you just love the paper jams (or running out of paper) that
always seemed to occur while you were away from the office (as a
builder this was the norm for me).

Doesn't almost everyone have e-mail and a scanner?

So much easier to create and send a PDF file via e-mail.

 

[James Silverton]

I can't figure out the purpose of the cable from machine to phone. The
rest is very orthodox fax stuff, and yes, it will have a dial-up modem
since it has to send digital signals down an analogue network and
convert analogue to digital on input.
Modem (modulator-demodulator).

How much for the whole box of tricks? I've been considering an
all-in-one printer-scanner-copier. They're so cheap these days. If I
could get one with a fax-usable modem in it as well, then all the better.

Basically, on my Windows XP machine, the Fax Modem has software that
treats it like another printer.


--


James Silverton, Potomac

I'm *not* (e-mail address removed)